THE leader of the city council will step down after being appointed the region’s deputy police and crime commissioner.

Cllr Marc Bayliss, who was re-appointed leader of Worcester City Council in May, was confirmed as West Mercia’s deputy police and crime commissioner on Wednesday (September 7).

The appointment means the city council will have a new leader after Cllr Bayliss promised to walk away from the top job at the Guildhall if chosen to take on the new police role.

Cllr Bayliss said he will take on the role part-time as well as remain as a city councillor, having been re-elected in the Bedwardine ward last year, and will stay in his role as cabinet member for economy, skills and infrastructure at Worcestershire County Council.

Asked whether he would be able to juggle the new police role alongside work for two councils, Cllr Bayliss said: “I knew I wouldn’t be able to carry on in all those roles if I was successful… This role is one that requires a significant amount of time and I have asked for the role on a part-time basis.

“I believe that if I stand down as leader of the city council, I will have the capacity to undertake the role fully. I wouldn’t want to do anything in a half-cocked nature.”

Cllr Bayliss admitted he did not have a “special insight” into policing but his more than two-decade-long stint as a councillor placed him on a good footing.

“I have a range of experience that I would be able to draw on, not least the engagement with the public and the role of the office is to be the voice of the public in policing rather than the voice of policing to the public.”

The appointment comes at a time when West Mercia Police has been criticised for the way in which it investigates some crimes and how it responds to the public.

Several of the force’s departments were said to be understaffed and its “unreliable” IT system was “inefficient” and impacting response times according to the investigation by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).